Some Stranger Things fans are convinced that a surprise new final episode of the show might be on its way.
The hit Netflix series came to a conclusion with its two-hour season five finale on New Year’s Eve, in which the heroic group of friends came together one final time to defeat the evil Vecna.
In the days since the final episode dropped, however, some fans have become convinced that the show may not be quite as over as it may seem.
On social media, Reddit threads and message boards, fans have been sharing a theory known as the ‘conformity gate’, which relies on a belief that the show’s ending was deliberately misleading.
The epilogue of the finale jumped ahead 18 months, giving closure to the core group as they gather for one last game of Dungeons & Dragons in the Wheeler’s basement, while leaving Eleven’s fate deliberately ambiguous.
thread 🔦📺
all the #conformitygate evidences pic.twitter.com/ozsOWglHWb
— 𝒛𝒏 rxyan 🍉 (@rxyanvener) January 4, 2026
What it feels like to believe in #conformitygate right now pic.twitter.com/B6bP0fG4mn
— AdoroLaPizza (@PizzaAdoro) January 2, 2026
Ok, so… Hear me out…
In the epilogue, everyone who is on a "date" has an exit sign in the back of shot. A red exit.
Will on a date at a bar
Joyce and Hopper on a date
Max and Lucas on a date3 "happy" endings.
3 "dates"
3 RED EXIT SIGNS#conformitygate #StrangerThings5 https://t.co/nJhxtdS51R pic.twitter.com/lZzzk7WtCP
— bearwith (@_bear_with) January 4, 2026
the concept of each episode count from every season following a pattern (8, 9, 8, 9, 8) and if there was a ninth episode it would break the pattern // breaking out of "conformity"??? #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/xt5RJz53xP
— Ike ★ #conformitygate (@stream_artpop) January 4, 2026
According to the ‘conformity gate’, however, that epilogue represents a false reality in which Vecna’s influence has not been fully broken and the characters are trapped in an illusion. The fans who subscribe to the theory point to certain moments of symmetry in the graduation scenes and characters breaking the fourth wall, while also pointing out the strangely “normal” feeling of the climactic epilogue.
Fans believe that a surprise extra episode could be on its way, a “secret episode nine”, with January 7 being mooted as a potential release date. There is no indication from Netflix or the Duffer brothers that this is likely to happen, however.
the fandom when it gets to jan 7th and nothing happens and we all have a worldwide mental breakdown #conformitygate pic.twitter.com/wqNaSLkgwa
— mike byers (@wilmathewise) January 3, 2026
why is #conformitygate lowkey more entertaining than vol 2 and the finale pic.twitter.com/RTENhiw7bT
— _monofruit (@_monofruit) January 2, 2026
the duffers seeing #conformitygate and realizing they have eight hours to film, edit, and release a second finale to save their careers pic.twitter.com/JuKVXR7HaK
— ana ☾ byler brainrot (@wiickitywhack) January 2, 2026
One of the stars of the show Randy Havens debunked a theory last week that there is an unreleased cut of the fifth season. “There is no Snyder Cut of the show, please don’t believe everything some random ass tells you on the internet,” he said.
Elsewhere, fans of the show have also been comparing the show’s finale to the music video for Linkin Park’s ‘In The End’, while streams of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘When Doves Cry’ have more than doubled on Spotify after their inclusion in the episode.
The Duffer brothers, meanwhile, have admitted that they wish they hadn’t done any interviews explaining the final episode. “I really shouldn’t have done any of these postmortem interviews” Matt Duffer said. “I am not in a good place. Like, why the hell did we do any of them yesterday is beyond me. I’m, like, fried. I was getting over the flu. So, anyone mad at any answers we gave you yesterday, just cut me some slack.”